Tour de France 2011 | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/tour-de-france-2011
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Tour de France 2011 - videohttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2012/jun/29/tour-de-france-2011-video
Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans were poised to take advantage of the reigning champion Alberto Contador's weakness, while French riders performed well for the home crowds. But it was Evans who came out on top to become the first Australian to win the Tour <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2012/jun/29/tour-de-france-2011-video">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportFri, 29 Jun 2012 16:49:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2012/jun/29/tour-de-france-2011-videoguardian.co.uk/guardian.co.ukTour de France 2011 - video
Photograph: guardian.co.ukGuardian Staff2012-06-29T16:49:00ZIcons of 2011: No5 Mark Cavendish | Richard Williamshttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/dec/20/icons-2011-mark-cavendish
The cycling world champion is the fifth athlete in a five-part series in which Guardian writers nominate their sports person of the year<p>It says a great deal about Mark Cavendish as an athlete and a human being that when his world championship came, it was the result of a collective effort by seven other riders who spent eight hours burying themselves on his behalf, without hope of significant personal reward.</p><p>There was no money in it for Bradley Wiggins, David Millar, Geraint Thomas, Chris Froome, Steve Cummings, Ian Stannard and Jeremy Hunt. All of them are riders of distinction; some have worn the leader's jersey in the Tour&nbsp;de&nbsp;France and stood on the top step of an Olympic podium. None of them left Copenhagen on that warm evening in late September with so much&nbsp;as a silver or a bronze medal. But they were all as exultant as the man who&nbsp;had just pulled on the rainbow jersey, because they had bought into a project based on his ability to capitalise on their efforts, and he had justified their commitment.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/dec/20/icons-2011-mark-cavendish">Continue reading...</a>Mark CavendishRoad World Championships 2011Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportTue, 20 Dec 2011 17:37:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/dec/20/icons-2011-mark-cavendishJonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty ImagesMark Cavendish's World Championship victory was aided by several Team Sky riders, notably Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty ImagesJonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty ImagesMark Cavendish's World Championship victory was aided by several Team Sky riders, notably Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome. Photograph: Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP/Getty ImagesRichard Williams2011-12-20T17:37:26ZBradley Wiggins contests Vuelta a España with London 2012 on his mindhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/aug/16/bradley-wiggins-vuelta-espana-olympics-2012
• 'We want to see how I can continue after the Vuelta'<br />• Wiggins has an eye on 2012 Tour de France and Olympics<p>Six weeks after making a premature exit from the Tour de France with a broken collarbone, Bradley Wiggins will start his first Tour of Spain in Benidorm on Saturday with the London Olympics very much on his mind. Already a medallist in the past three Games, Wiggins is aiming for the road time trial at the 2012 Games and will use the Vuelta and the world time trial championships in Copenhagen nine days later as a dress rehearsal.</p><p>&quot;It's all for that, a bit experimental. We want to see how I can continue after the Vuelta, keep my head on, keep the momentum building with a view to next year. There are nine days between finishing [the Tour] in Paris and the time trial [in London] next year. It's an opportunity to do three weeks flat-out, empty the tank, then do the time trial of your life.&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/aug/16/bradley-wiggins-vuelta-espana-olympics-2012">Continue reading...</a>Sir Bradley WigginsTeam SkyCyclingMark CavendishSportOlympics 2012: cyclingTour de France 2011Tour de FranceVuelta a España 2011Vuelta a EspañaOlympicsTue, 16 Aug 2011 18:37:54 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/aug/16/bradley-wiggins-vuelta-espana-olympics-2012Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesBradley Wiggins is using the Vuelta and the world championships nine days later as a dress rehearsal for next year. Photo: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesLionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesBradley Wiggins is using the Vuelta and the world time trial championships in Copenhagen nine days later as a dress rehearsal for next year. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesWilliam Fotheringham2011-08-16T18:37:54ZTour de France: the final stage - in pictureshttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-cycling-pictures
The best images from the final stage of the 2011 Tour de France as the cyclists enter Paris and race to the Arc de Triomphe <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-cycling-pictures">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingMark CavendishSportSun, 24 Jul 2011 20:46:42 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/gallery/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-cycling-picturesPete Goding/Action ImagesCycling - Tour de France 2011 - Stage 21 - Cr teil to Paris Champos- lys es - 24/7/11
BMC Racing Team's Cadel Evans (C) celebrates with team mates after winning the Tour de France
Mandatory Credit: Action Images / Pete Goding
Livepic
2011 Photograph: Pete Goding/Action ImagesGuardian Staff2011-07-24T20:46:42ZMark Cavendish pays tribute to team after Tour de France points winhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france1
• 'I was really, really low during stages in the Massif Central'<br />• It was the team that 'got me through this Tour'<p>Mark Cavendish won the final sprint of the Tour de France for the third year in a row on Sunday, and this time the victory seemed so easy, so undramatic, so textbook, that you had to look hard to make sure the competition were really trying.</p><p>When Matt Goss peeled off at the end of the Rue de Rivoli and Mark Renshaw angled across the Place de la Concorde before doing his rocket-launcher thing at the bottom of the Champs-Elys&eacute;es, only one outcome seemed possible. Cavendish duly made himself the first British rider in the history of the race to capture the green jersey, given to the winner of the classification based on points awarded for the intermediate and final sprints.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france1">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Mark CavendishTour de FranceCyclingSportSun, 24 Jul 2011 19:28:19 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france1Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesAn emotional Mark Cavendish kisses his green jersey on the podium in Paris. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesBryn Lennon/Getty ImagesAn emotional Mark Cavendish kisses his green jersey on the podium in Paris Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesRichard Williams in Paris2011-07-24T19:28:19ZMark Cavendish earns a place alongside the great sprintershttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france
The Manxman's stunning consistency in the Tour de France over the last four years make him one of the finest sprinters in history<p>Even before his triumphant arrival in Paris in the green jersey on Sunday, Mark Cavendish had carved out an enviable niche among the ranks of the Tour's sprint greats. With 20 wins in four Tours over four years, Cavendish is already more prolific than most and more consistent than all the rest. The green jersey, secured with a fine victory dash down the Champs-Elys&eacute;es, is merely the icing on the cake.</p><p>The only sprinter who still ranks ahead of Cavendish in terms of Tour de France stages won is Andr&eacute; Darrigade of France, who won a total of 22, but over a far longer period, between 1953 and 1964. Darrigade also won the green jersey twice, in 1959 and 1961. Both the great man's landmark achievements are well within Cavendish's reach, although it is unlikely that the Manxman will match his impressive record of winning the race's first stage five times.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Mark CavendishTour de FranceCyclingSportSun, 24 Jul 2011 15:53:26 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-franceLionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesBritain's Mark Cavendish has enjoyed another consistent Tour and goes down as one of the great sprinters. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesLionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesBritain's Mark Cavendish has enjoyed another consistent Tour and goes down as one of the great sprinters. Photograph: Lionel Bonaventure/AFP/Getty ImagesWilliam Fotheringham in Paris2011-07-24T15:53:26ZTour de France 2011: Grit powers old man Cadel Evans to the summithttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-2011-mark-cavendish
• 34-year-old is Australia's first winner of the Tour<br />• <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/24/mark-cavendish-tour-de-france" title="Mark Cavendish wins green jersey">Mark Cavendish wins green jersey</a> and final stage<p>Cadel Evans duly crossed the finish line in the yellow jersey on Sunday, the first Australian winner in the history of the Tour de France. But two days earlier and at the other end of the country there had been a moment when it looked as though the game might be up for the man who had twice lost the race by less than a minute and who had gained a reputation for attracting misfortune.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-2011-mark-cavendish">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Mark CavendishTour de FranceCyclingSportCadel EvansSun, 24 Jul 2011 15:50:04 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-2011-mark-cavendishPascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesAustralia's Cadel Evans celebrates with his BMC team-mates on the Champs-Elysées in Paris after becoming the oldest winner of the Tour de France since the war. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesRichard Williams in Paris2011-07-24T15:50:04ZFrom A to Z: a look back at the 2011 Tour de France's highs and lows | William Fotheringhamhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france
From Cadel Evans's mechanical mishap on the Col du Télégraphe to Tommy Voeckler's hissy fit<p><strong>A is for Australia</strong> Advancing. Fair. Public holiday to celebrate first win in Tour, 30 years since the first yellow jersey worn by a man from down under. Let's not forget him: <strong>Anderson</strong>, Phil.</p><p><strong>B is for Barbed Wire</strong> Car 800's swerve to avoid a tree while overtaking the break on stage nine, bringing down Johnny Hoogerland and Juan-Antonio Flecha, is now infamous. The images of Hoogerland with his shorts ripped to shreds after becoming entangled in a fence are unforgettable. But he finished the Tour, 33 stitches in his legs, as did Flecha, both racing hard in the final week.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportCadel EvansSun, 24 Jul 2011 14:08:59 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2011/jul/24/tour-de-franceLaurent Rebours/APE is for Europcar team, who won a mountain stage with Pierre Rolland, left, and whose leader Thomas Voeckler, rode in yellow for 11 days. Photo: Laurent Rebours/APLaurent Rebours/APE is for Europcar team, whose leader Thomas Voeckler, rode in yellow for 11 days and and their domestique Pierre Rolland who won a mountain stage. Illustration: Laurent Rebours/APWilliam Fotheringham2011-07-24T14:08:59ZTour de France: stage 21 - as it happened | Alan Gardnerhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-stage-21-live
Mark Cavendish dashed to victory down the Champs-Elysées for the third year running to make certain of the green jersey<p><strong>Pre-ramble:</strong> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/02/tour-de-france-live">I started</a>, so I'll finish ... Yes, Barry Glendenning has nicked off with his <em>maillot jeune</em> and I'm the designated <em>domestique</em> to guide you through today's processional final stage of the 2011 Tour de France. I say processional, though there are still one or two riders hoping to steal the shirt from Mark Cavendish's back - the sprinters' green jersey will be decided today and the Manxman, 15 points clear of his nearest rival, Jos&eacute; Joaqu&iacute;n Rojas, will be targeting an unprecedented third consecutive winning dash along the Champs-Elys&eacute;es in order to seal the deal.</p><p>For now, and until the intermediate sprint at around the 60km mark, the peloton is like one great big group hug ... Andy Schleck and <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/23/cadel-evans-tour-de-france-champion-elect">Cadel Evans, the champion elect</a>, have their arms around each other, most of the riders have found a partner to shoot the breeze with and it seems likely that even Alberto Contador will refrain from assaulting spectators on this most joyeux of etapes. At some point, in keeping with the mood on Le Tour, someone will bring me a glass of champagne and some hot buttered croissants - at least I'm pretty sure that's what the memo said.</p><p>1922 Firmin Lambot<br />1956 Roger Walkowiak<br />1960 Gastone Nencini<br />1966 Lucien Aimar<br />1990 Greg Lemond<br />2006 Oscar Pereiro<br />2010 Alberto Contador&quot;</p><p>He that outlives this day, and comes safe home,<br />Will stand a tip-toe when the day is named,<br />And rouse him at the name of Crispian.<br />He that shall live this day, and see old age,<br />Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours,<br />And say 'To-morrow is Saint Crispian:'<br />Then will he strip his sleeve and show his scars.<br />And say 'These wounds I had on Crispin's day.'<br />Old men forget: yet all shall be forgot,<br />But he'll remember with advantages<br />What feats he did that day&quot;</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-stage-21-live">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceMark CavendishCyclingSportSun, 24 Jul 2011 12:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/tour-de-france-stage-21-liveLaurent Cipriani/APThe various jersey-wearers take one look at the work Ashdown has put into cropping a pic of them all, then decide to line up anyway thus making his morning's work entirely redundant. Photograph: Laurent Cipriani/APGettyPierre Rolland, Cadel Evans, Mark Cavendish and Samuel Sanchez. Three jerseys are certain to stay put - but can Cav hold on to green? Photograph: GettyAlan Gardner2011-07-24T12:30:00ZCadel Evans blazes ahead to become first Australian Tour de France winnerhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/cadel-evans-tour-schleck-andy-frank
The nation goes wild as the cyclist restores some pride after a run of sporting disasters<p>In Australia the headline writers have coined the celebratory phrases already.</p><p>He is the &quot;King of France&quot;, &quot;Awesome Evans&quot; the saviour of what has been a dismal period for Australian sport. Last weekend the Aussies were beaten at home in rugby by Western Samoa, a result that prompted much navel-gazing ahead of September's World Cup. But that humiliation has been quite eclipsed by an unprecedented triumph: the first ever victory by an Australian in the Tour de France.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/cadel-evans-tour-schleck-andy-frank">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceJulia GillardAustralia newsWorld newsAsia PacificAustralian politicsSat, 23 Jul 2011 23:08:53 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/24/cadel-evans-tour-schleck-andy-frankPascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesCadel Evans wears the yellow jersey of the Tour's overall leader after the Grenoble time trial. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesPascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesCadel Evans wears the yellow jersey of the Tour's overall leader after the Grenoble time trial. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesPeter Beaumont2011-07-23T23:08:53ZTour de France 2011: Mark Cavendish has the green dream in his grasphttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/mark-cavendish-green-jersey-tour-de-france
The Manxman, closing in on the maillot vert, will speed into Paris hoping to satisfy a grand obsession<p>After one of the worst weeks in his 26 years, Sunday may just turn out to be the best day in Mark Cavendish's life. Since Tuesday, his &quot;munchkin legs&quot;, as he affectionately calls them, have had to haul him over the Alps for up to seven hours a day of relentless suffering in the saddle.</p><p>But on Sunday the Tour de France returns to the level ground he prefers and while the race is effectively over for most of the competitors – for the yellow jersey competition, the final stage from Cr&eacute;teil to the Champs-Elys&eacute;es is ceremonial rather than competitive (I know, confusing) – Cavendish still has points to prove.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/mark-cavendish-green-jersey-tour-de-france">Continue reading...</a>Mark CavendishTour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportSat, 23 Jul 2011 21:57:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/mark-cavendish-green-jersey-tour-de-franceBryn Lennon/Getty ImagesMark Cavendish of Great Britain and HTC-Highroad hopes to make it third time lucky in the points classification contest. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesBryn Lennon/Getty ImagesMark Cavendish of Great Britain and HTC-Highroad hopes to make it third time lucky in the points classification contest. Photograph: Bryn Lennon/Getty ImagesTim Lewis2011-07-23T21:57:00ZTour de France 2011: Perfect timing puts Cadel Evans on road to gloryhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/cadel-evans-tour-de-france-champion-elect
• Finishes more than two minutes faster than Schleck brothers<br />• Will become first Australian to win Tour de France<p>Australia will have its first winner of the Tour de France after Cadel Evans took the yellow jersey from Andy Schleck in today's 42.5km time trial in the shadow of the Chartreuse mountains, and there was nothing close about it. Starting the day 57 seconds behind the younger of the two Luxembourg brothers, Evans completed the ride in a time two and a half minutes faster than his rival, and the former mountain bike champion needs only to stay upright on Sunday's stage from Cr&eacute;teil to Paris to make his dreams come true.</p><p>The 34-year-old Evans is an emotional man beneath his often awkward, sometimes closed, facade and he wept in the arms of his colleagues in the Swiss-American BMC team as he prepared to accept the <em>maillot jaune</em> for the first time in this year's race.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/cadel-evans-tour-de-france-champion-elect">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportCadel EvansSat, 23 Jul 2011 16:07:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/cadel-evans-tour-de-france-champion-electJoel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesCadel Evans celebrates capturing the yellow jersey on the podium at the end of the Grenoble time-trial. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesRichard Williams in Grenoble2011-07-23T16:07:43ZTour de France diary: End of the road for Alexandre Vinokourovhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/tour-de-france-vinokourov
Kazakh gives commentators a break, it's all downhill for whingeing Schleck and Millar tells of camaraderie in 140 characters or fewer<p>Five days after breaking his femur in one of the lurid crashes that made headlines during the Tour's opening week, the 37-year-old Alexandre Vinokourov announces his retirement. Vino divided opinion even before he was thrown off the race in 2007 after testing positive for blood doping, leading the organisers to invite his entire Astana team to go home. But at least television commentators will no longer confront the evidently insurmountable problem of pronouncing his surname.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/tour-de-france-vinokourov">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011SportLance ArmstrongSat, 23 Jul 2011 14:01:57 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/tour-de-france-vinokourovStr/AFP/Getty ImagesRussia's Alexandre Vinokourov is carried into an ambulance after he crashed during the ninth stage of the 2011 Tour de France. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty ImagesStr/AFP/Getty ImagesRussia's Alexandre Vinokourov is carried into an ambulance after he crashed during the ninth stage of the 2011 Tour de France. Photograph: Str/AFP/Getty ImagesRichard Williams2011-07-23T14:01:57ZTour de France: stage 20 - as it happened | Gregg Roughleyhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/tour-de-france-stage-20-live
Cadel Evans gave himself a 1'34 lead after a scintillating time trial performance to ensure he will be coronated as Tour champion<p>And so after all the buckets of sweat that have been left on the mountainsides, villages and country lanes of France, this year's Tour champion is not yet known. The three men in the picture above are the contenders: the leader, Andy Schleck (82h 48' 43), his brother, Frank Schleck (53sec) and Australia's Cadel Evans (57sec). The latter is the favourite, given that he's the better time trial rider and many expect him to be able to take at least a minute out Andy Schleck around the course today. The weather may play its part. It's wet out there.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/tour-de-france-stage-20-live">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingCadel EvansSat, 23 Jul 2011 12:24:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/23/tour-de-france-stage-20-liveLaurent Cipriani/APCadel Evans, the 2011 Tour champion elect, gives it some oomph on his way round the time trial course. Photograph: Laurent Cipriani/APJoel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesCadel Evans has been the filling in the Schleck sandwich for much of the Tour's latter stages. Today he can break free. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesGregg Roughley2011-07-23T12:24:00ZTour de France 2011: Inside the Team HTC-Highroad engine roomhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/mark-cavendish-htc-sprint-train
Brian Holm, sporting director at Team HTC-Highroad, explains how Mark Cavendish's lead-out train propels him to the finish<p>First we make sure the break that goes is right; it has to be four or five riders, not eight or nine. Then once the escape is established, the diesels set a tempo at the front of the bunch, which keeps the leaders within a manageable margin</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/mark-cavendish-htc-sprint-train">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Mark CavendishTour de FranceCyclingSportFri, 22 Jul 2011 18:19:59 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/mark-cavendish-htc-sprint-trainLaurent Cipriani/APThe HTC-Highroad sprint train of Mark Cavendish, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, leads the peloton on stage 15 of the 2011 Tour de France. Photograph: Laurent Cipriani/APLaurent Cipriani/APThe HTC-Highroad sprint train of Mark Cavendish, wearing the best sprinter's green jersey, leads the peloton on stage 15 of the 2011 Tour de France. Photograph: Laurent Cipriani/APInterviews by William Fotheringham2011-07-22T18:19:59ZTour de France 2011: Mark Cavendish set for unique Parisian hat-trickhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/tour-de-france-mark-cavendish
It is the measure of the Manxman's current pre-eminence that few would anticipate any other winner of the final stage<p>Mark Cavendish will arrive in Paris on Sunday as the firm favourite to win his third consecutive sprint finish on the Champs-Elys&eacute;es. Until he accomplished it last year, no rider had ever won two in a row. It is the measure of his current pre-eminence that, whether or not he is wearing the green jersey, few would anticipate any other result this weekend.</p><p>To a greater extent than any British rider since Tom Simpson, Cavendish has been taken to the Tour's heart. After 19 stage wins overall he has a specially warm rapport with G&eacute;rard Holtz, the suave French TV interviewer who grabs the winners for a chat at the end of each day. And Christian Prudhomme, the race director, went to the trouble of changing the rules on the awarding of points in an attempt to ensure that the man who wins the greatest number of sprints will leave with the green jersey. Now the Champs-Elys&eacute;es is the Manxman's personal arena.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/tour-de-france-mark-cavendish">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Mark CavendishTour de FranceCyclingSportFri, 22 Jul 2011 18:16:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/tour-de-france-mark-cavendishTom Jenkins/Tom JenkinsMark Cavendish sprints clear to win the final stage of the 2010 Tour de France on the Champs-Elysées. Photograph: Tom JenkinsTom Jenkins/Tom JenkinsMark Cavendish sprints clear to win the final stage of the 2010 Tour de France on the Champs-Elysées. Photograph: Tom JenkinsRichard Williams in Alpe d'Huez2011-07-22T18:16:55ZTour de France 2011: Pierre Rolland snatches France's first stage winhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/pierre-rolland-tour-de-france
• Frenchman secures white jersey with Alpe d'Huez win<br />• Andy Schleck takes the yellow jersey from Thomas Voeckler<p>For the second day in a row, the 2011 Tour de France produced shocks and shake-ups in the Alps. Pierre Rolland, released by a struggling Thomas Voeckler from his duties as a <em>domestique</em> midway through the day, gave France a long-awaited first stage win in this year's race, but for many, his principal contribution, as he threaded his way up the 21 steps of the devil's staircase, was to snatch victory from the grasp of Alberto Contador.</p><p>The Spaniard, who had cracked at the end of Thursday's long and gruelling stage, attacked like a man reborn throughout the day. So effective was his work that he started the ascent of the Alpe-d'Huez's notorious hairpins, on which he swatted away the attentions of outrageous exhibitionists, with a lead of half a minute, only to lose this game of two-wheeled <em>vingt-et-un</em> when he tired and was overhauled on the final ramps by Rolland and Samuel S&aacute;nchez.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/pierre-rolland-tour-de-france">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportFri, 22 Jul 2011 16:25:24 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/pierre-rolland-tour-de-francePascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesFrance's Pierre Rolland stage 19 of the 2011 Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesRichard Williams at Alpe-d'Huez2011-07-22T16:25:24ZTour de France: stage 19 - as it happened | Barry Glendenninghttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/tour-de-france-stage-19-live
Pierre Rolland won the stage for France, Andy Schleck took the yellow jersey for Luxembourg, but Cadel Evans is in the box seat for Australia<p>There's little or no let-up for the riders after yesterday's Alpine exertions as the peloton set of from Modane-Valfr&eacute;jus in the Rh&ocirc;ne-Alpes region of south-eastern France for a potentially cataclysmic stage incorporating the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_du_T%C3%A9l%C3%A9graphe">Col du T&eacute;l&eacute;graphe</a> (1,566m), a return to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Col_du_Galibier">Col du Galibier</a> (2,556m) and a mountain-top finish around the 21 strewngth-sapping hairpin bends that lead to the famous ski resort of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alpe_d%27Huez">Alpe d'Huez</a> (1,950m). </p><p>Behind in our group, with 15km to go, no one was willing to work. A bit strange for a French guy in yellow, this close to Paris.....and even a chance for the White jersey as well. For me, without Voeckler's help, it put me in a loosing situation, with the wind though, escaping from the group was going to be very difficult but not very time effective, so, I just did one turn....for 9km....Basso did swap off for a few seconds, and I think that Europcar guy who could have had White today did one short turn as well, not how I would be looking to set myself for Paris, but we'll see when we get there.</p><p>As today's stage start was in Italy, just over an hour and a half from my base in Varese, my girlfriend Chiara drove over after work last night and we had dinner together.</p><p>As our team hotel was fully booked and we are not allowed change hotels by the Tour organisation, she found a hotel 15km away and came to the start this morning, where we had a cup of coffee with my dad.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/tour-de-france-stage-19-live">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportCadel EvansFri, 22 Jul 2011 11:46:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/22/tour-de-france-stage-19-livePascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesFrance's Pierre Rolland wins stage 19 of the 2011 Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesPascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesFrance's Pierre Rolland stage 19 of the 2011 Tour de France on Alpe d'Huez. Photograph: Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty ImagesBarry Glendenning2011-07-22T11:46:00ZTour de France: stage 18 - as it happened | Barry Glendenninghttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/21/tour-de-france-stage-18-live
Andy Schleck won at the highest finish in Tour history, but Thomas Voeckler clings on to the yellow jersey by 15 seconds<p>Three of the Tour's nine hors category Alpine climbs loom ominously between the riders and the finish line today in a stage that should go some way towards sorting out the men from the boys ... unlike several other stages we predicted would do so, only for the GC to remain more or less the same. </p><p>After the rain and bad weather of the second week, I now have a bout of sinusitis and a bit of a cold. My nose is blocked, my voice is going and I'm starting to cough.</p><p>The team doctor put me on a course of antibiotics yesterday. They usually tire you out a bit more than usual, but I'm that tired now, I don't think it will make any difference. I think it's better to take them than to get worse and be completely wrecked.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/21/tour-de-france-stage-18-live">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportThu, 21 Jul 2011 10:42:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/21/tour-de-france-stage-18-liveGuillaume Horcajuelo/EPALeopard-Trek rider Andy Schleck celebrates victory on the Col du Galibier Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPAGuillaume Horcajuelo/EPALeopard-Trek rider Andy Schleck celebrates victory on the Col du Galibier Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPABarry Glendenning2011-07-21T10:42:00ZTour de France 2011: Resilient Thomas Voeckler retains yellow jerseyhttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/20/tour-de-france-thomas-voeckler
• The chasing pack gain 27 seconds on the overall leader<br />• Voeckler twice lost his bearings on the tricky descent<p>Thomas Voeckler retained the Tour de France yellow jersey after a dramatic 17th stage which saw the Tour move into Italy.</p><p>Cadel Evans made up 27 seconds on the overall leader but Voeckler will take comfort in the fact that it could have been a whole lot worse as the Europcar rider twice lost his bearings on the steep descent to the finish line in Pinerolo but recovered to finish only four minutes and 53 seconds <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/jul/20/tour-de-france-2011" title="behind the stage winner, Team Skys Edvald Boasson-Hagen">behind the stage winner, Team Sky's Edvald Boasson-Hagen</a>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/20/tour-de-france-thomas-voeckler">Continue reading...</a>Tour de France 2011Tour de FranceCyclingSportWed, 20 Jul 2011 16:06:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/sport/2011/jul/20/tour-de-france-thomas-voecklerJoel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesThomas Voeckler is helped by a fan after the Europcar rider left the road on the final descent of stage 17 the Tour de France. Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesJoel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesThomas Voeckler is helped by a fan after the Europcar rider left the road on the final descent of stage 17 the Tour de France Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty ImagesEvan Fanning2011-07-20T16:06:41Z